Kerala Raises Living Standard Democratically

Published: September 28, 1993

To the Editor:

Your front-page article Sept. 7 raises the question of whether or not there is a link between repression and improvements in the quality of life in China. While China may not be democratic, you point out, life there is better for millions than in the more democratic country of India.

But India is a varied country and statistics for the whole nation do not hold for all the individual states. Kerala, in the extreme southwest corner of India, has the lowest per capita gross national product of any Indian state, yet its quality-of-life indicators compare very favorably to China's.

For example, life expectancy is 68; infant mortality, 27 per 1,000; the literacy rate is 90 percent, and there is virtually no female infanticide, which is not the case in China. These impressive facts are the result of far-reaching reforms that have occurred in Kerala, achieved through the organized efforts of its people.

While these successes did not come easily, there was no sacrifice of democracy. Kerala shows that popular participation, the essence of democracy, is a major part of improving life. BARBARA H. CHASIN Upper Montclair, N.J., Sept. 20, 1993 The writer, professor of sociology at Montclair State College, is co-author of "Kerala: Radical Reform as Development in an Indian State."